use strict; use warnings; my %lista2= ( 1 => "CAT00.3", 2 => "CAT43.1", 3 => "CAT40.3" ); while () { s/^>(\d+)/$lista2{$1} || die "unknown number $1"/e; print } __DATA__ >1 AACTCTGGGACAATGGCACACGGGAAACAGATAATGAACGATCAGCACAGGGAACTAGCG >2 AACTCTGGGACAATGGCACACGGGAAACAGATAATGAACGATCAGCACAGGGAACTAGCG >3 AACTCTGGGACAATGGCACACGGGAAACAGATAATGAACGATCAGCACAGGGAACTAGCG >4